In recognition of outstanding writing instruction for students of the University and exemplary service to the Writing Resource Center during the academic year.

We are very pleased to honor James Stephens as this year’s winner of the WRC Excellence in Consulting Award. This award recognizes that writing instruction happens not just in classrooms, but also in one-on-one interactions between students and teachers. The Writing Resource Center serves the CWRU community as a hub for writing praxis: it offers workshops on academic writing, provides support for public speaking and multimodal presentations, and supports the development of sophisticated writers through individualized consultations. The writing instructors who work in the WRC, including Full- and Part-Time SAGES Teaching Fellows, English Department Graduate Assistants, and Undergraduate Peer Writing Fellows, share their expertise and provide an engaged audience for CWRU writers.

Mr. Stephens is consistently one of the WRC’s most sought-after consultants. As one nominator writes, “All you need to do is look at the WRC schedule for proof that Jim Stepens is an incredible consultant.” He is universally praised for his patient encouragement and his ability to reflect back to authors the concepts and ideas that they are working to articulate. As several nominators and colleagues describe his practice, Mr. Stephens is especially supportive of writers’ autonomy. He is “patient and caring” and works with writers to revise their work to best present their arguments. Mr. Stephens is the ideal audience for writers: he listens carefully, asks thoughtful questions, and encourages all writers to see their work in new ways. This year, we are especially pleased to recognize Mr. Stephens for his outstanding consulting work in the WRC.

This year’s nominations were exceptionally strong, and so we are pleased to award Honorable Mention in the WRC Excellence in Consulting Award to Jackson Rudoff. Mr. Rudoff is one of a talented group of undergraduate Peer Writing Fellows working in the WRC. He has been recognized as a leader for his enthusiasm and his attention to detail. He received several nominations, which were remarkable for their enthusiasm and for their variety. One nominator praised Mr. Rudoff for his help preparing a personal statement for graduate school; another described his willingness to “go above and beyond to help” on editorial writing. A key to Mr. Rudoff’s success is his curiosity and his commitment to improvement: he understands writing assignments as opportunities to learn more about his own and other writers’ ideas, and he approaches consulting with genuine enthusiasm. We wish Mr. Rudoff, a member of the CWRU Class of 2021, success in his next adventures, and we are pleased to recognize and thank him for his dedication to student writing at CWRU.

Previous Winners of the WRC Excellence in Consulting Award

2020 – Cara Byrne & Andrea Milne

2019 – Anthony Wexler

2018 – John Higgins

2017 – John Wiehl

2016 – Jessica Birch & Eric Chilton

2015 – Robert Wells Addington

2014 – Cammy Sray

2013 – Sean Moiles

2012 – Joshua Hoeynck

2011 – Ashley Seitz-Kramer

2010 – Tracey Hallman

2009 – Sarah Peirson